Slayer
by Mirany Hunter
Summary: Angel meets a long lost love and they both experience old memories of one another. But is his lover friend or foe and just how much has changed since they last saw each other?
1. Slayer

Angel Slayer

Mirany crept through the graveyard, carefully trying to avoid making any noise. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a long ponytail and her bright blue eyes scanned the graveyard for any sign of movement. Over her three hundred-ish years, she had learnt that vamps who didn't care about their images would always drag their prey to the graveyard. Those vamps were the most dangerous ones. They didn't mind getting their hands dirty to get a meal. Or several.

A shadow started to emerge from the darkness, walking slowly and silently, which meant that it hadn't yet found someone to drink. Mirany felt her face change to its vampiric form. Her brow furrowed and her eyes glowed yellow as her teeth lengthened to fine points. She had gotten quite a shock when she found out that she was destined to kill her own kind and any other demon. Of course, the extra Slayer powers had come attached to a soul, which she had definitely not bargained for.

The shadow was tall and broad shouldered, meaning Mirany would have to put up a fight to bring down this vamp. She crept closer to it, pulling a stake out from her sleeve. She was barely three metres away when the shadow turned. Mirany saw its own vampire face and received an unwelcome shock.

"Angelus?"

...

_1694_

_Mirany's hair was curled into millions of ringlets but only a few hung out from the knot her maid had put together at the back of her head. Her dress was a light gold colour and it fanned out from the waist down, with thin sleeves that hung at breast height on her arms. Her corset felt a little too tight but she didn't dare try to loosen it, lest she loosen it too much._

_Her feet ached from wearing the skinny heels that were pressing against her toes but she would not take them off. She had strict instructions on what she was to wear and how she was supposed to look from her maid. Only she, her most trusted servant, knew of her infatuation with Angelus, the charming man that would be coming to the ball tonight._

_The seventeen year old stood on the balcony high above the ground, sunlight making her dress glitter, looking out at the road for the first sign of his carriage. She did not care what her father thought of the man, Mirany knew that she had fell in love at first sight. She was not going to marry any man that her father picked for her. Angelus was her Romeo and she would make sure that she was his Juliet._

_A carriage trundled into view, heading towards the castle. Mirany knew at once that this was Angelus'. The windows had all been blacked out, giving him a rather pale complexion. He was the only man she knew that did this but she found the pale skin rather comforting. She hurried down the stairs into the ball-room. This was the night that she would win his heart._

_It took him a little over ten minutes to stride into the ball-room. Angelus was wearing a crimson jacket with gold emblazoned seams. Underneath the jacket was a white shirt with frilly cuffs and his tights were the same colour. His light brown hair was tied back in a short ponytail and his coal black eyes stared around at the ball-room, taking in the decorations and, more importantly, the people._

...

Angel stared at the vampire in front of him. She was wearing a green tank top and cargo shorts. She looked very different from when he had last seen her, but that didn't mean he didn't recognise her.

"Oh my God," he muttered. "Mirany?"

They stared at each other for a few more seconds before speaking at the same time.

"What are you doing here?"

...

_Angelus caught sight of the teenage girl he had met before and made his way over to her._

"_Mirany. How are you milady?"_

_His English accent was mixed very slightly with Irish, Ireland being his home town, though only for his life. His death had presented him with the opportunity to acquire many different accents. He reached down and took Mirany's hand, kissing her fingers lightly. She flushed a light pink and curtseyed._

"_Very well thank you, Angelus," she replied._

"_May I have this dance?" he asked as the music changed to a slightly slower song which he thought was more appropriate, seeing as he knew exactly what sort of shoes she was wearing under that dress, and wanted to make a good impression on her._

"_You may," she said, not taking her eyes off his._

_Angelus drew her out to the middle of the floor, where a number of couple were twirling to a slow waltz. They set off, turning smoothly in a large circle. She was a surprisingly good dancer for her age. No doubt she had been subjected to many of these sorts of balls and was unable to refuse a dance. He had her, Angelus had no doubt about that. He was quite sure she had been waiting for him to arrive._

...

Angelus' hair was short now and spiked up messily all over his head. Since the last time Mirany had seen him, Angelus had changed dramatically in the way of muscles as well. He was wearing a long sleeved, black shirt and matching jeans. Mirany's face changed back to normal but she did not lower her stake. It would be hard to kill a very old flame but she had done it before. But Angelus had been her sire…

As she looked more closely at him, she saw that he too, was holding a stake that he had lowered slightly.

_What is he doing with one of those?_

"Mirany, is that really you?" asked Angelus, looking delighted.

Mirany let her hand fall to her side and she tucked the stake back up her sleeve. There was no way in hell that she was going to be able to stake Angelus, demon or not. And especially not while he had a stake. _Which I still don't know why he's carrying. What would Angelus want with a stake? And why is he in LA?_

...

_The song ended, much to Mirany's disappointment, and Angelus led her back to the edge of the ball-room. That was when she spotted her father. He was watching her shrewdly and Mirany knew all too well what that look meant. He wanted her to keep her distance from the handsome man in front of her. Well, he was too late for that. But he did seem to want her to come to him, an ominous sign._

_She must have been watching for just a little too long because Angelus turned and looked over at her father as well, but unlike her, he looked to the people just around him._

"_It looks like your father's got you a man," he said, turning back to her._

_Mirany sighed._

"_Please, this will only take a minute," she said._

_Before Angelus could reply she had hurried off to where her father stood, but only keeping one eye on him. Her other was making sure she knew where Angelus was at all times. He didn't seem intent on leaving the place where he was standing and she took that as a positive sign. Even more positive was that he too was still watching her._

"_Yes father?" she asked._

_Her father started to speak but Mirany wasn't listening. Angelus had moved away from the wall and was cutting his way through the crowd, making his way towards them._

"_Mirany! Are you listening to me?"_

_Her father grabbed her arm and pulled her back around._

"_This is Edmund," he said, gesturing towards his newest pick._

_Mirany shot Edmund an uninterested glance, taking in his tasteless blue clothing and his blonde curly hair that was undoubtedly a wig._

"_How do you do?" she asked, though not at all wanting to hear his answer._

_Her father frowned. He could already tell that she was not interested in Edmund. He was well practised at picking her reluctance by now. Angelus had made his way to her side now. She gulped as her father looked him up and down._

"_Mirany, who is this?" he asked, his mouth forming the thinnest of thin lines._

"_W…w…well he's…uh…he's," stuttered Mirany._

"_My name is Angelus," said Angelus, bowing slightly in her father direction and nodding appreciatively at Edmund. "Mirany was just telling me about you."_

_Mirany worked hard not to let her jaw drop. He had had all of two seconds to think of something to say and he had said it as though it had actually happened. He might have been a good liar but Mirany was far from it. When her father looked at her, asking what she had been saying with his eyes, she flushed a deep red._

"_I…um…I was just telling him about your…uh…your good taste in men?" she squeaked, the words sounding more like a question than an answer._

_Angelus sighed softly. Her father nearly snapped it. He was more than aware that he was being lied to, at least, by Mirany._

"_Stay away from my daughter," he snarled at Angelus then addressed Mirany. "And you, leave this hall. Now. Get out of my sight."_

_He all but threw her towards the doors and turned away. Angelus caught Mirany as she stumbled forwards and led her towards the doors._

_They started up the stairs together but Angelus stopped before they had even gotten to the first landing._

"_Mirany, meet me in the garden tomorrow night," he said. "At around midnight. Do whatever you have to do to get out."_

_Before Mirany could reply, he was gone._

...

"Don't lower your weapon until you're sure that you can," said Angel, though he was slowly lowering his.

"That's rich. After a hundred and fifty years the first thing you tell me is not to lower my weapon," said Mirany. "I should have known. Is an 'I missed you' too much to ask? Or are you busy finding some other damsel in distress to turn?"

_Damn it. She had to get that out now, did she?_ In his three hundred and eighty-seven years, Angel had never met someone quite as unpredictable as Mirany. Angel put his stake back into his belt and reached out to take her hand. He could only think of one reason that she would also have a stake. Mirany reluctantly placed her hand in his and allowed herself to be drawn into him.

...

_Angelus saw the brass lamp up ahead and hurried towards it. Mirany turned as she heard his approaching footsteps. She was wearing a simple white dress that had a slight blue tinge to the upper half. She smiled when she saw him._

"_I didn't expect you to come," said Angelus._

"_But I did," said Mirany._

_He held out his hand for her to take and she placed it gently in hers. They began to walk through the garden, talking every now and then but mainly just enjoying each other's company. Angelus stopped, seeing his opening and bent his head towards her neck. Mirany didn't try to squirm away, at least, not until his fangs pierced her flesh._

...

"Angelus, I…" Mirany started but he cut her off.

"It's just Angel now," he said.

"Angel," corrected Mirany. "I have to wonder why you have a stake."

"I could ask you the same thing," he said.

Mirany frowned. He hadn't been quite so testy two-hundred years back. They started to walk through the graveyard, hand in hand.

"I asked you first," she said.

Angel smirked.

"I left because I had been given a soul by gypsies. I hunt vampires instead of make them."

Mirany saw him brace himself, expecting her to crack it at him, but of course, she didn't. Angel looked immensely surprised that she hadn't yet hit him.

"The Powers That Be decided that they needed a Slayer that already had super-powers," explained Mirany. "I got more but they gave me a soul for no extra charge."

...

_Mirany's eyes widened in horror. The only man she had ever loved was a night walker. A blood drinker. A vampyre. She tried desperately to worm her way out of his grip and away from his fangs but he had now drunk enough of her blood that Mirany was hardly able to stay awake. Angelus pulled his teeth out of her neck and grinned at her, a bit of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth._

"_I like you too much to dispose of you," he said, stroking her cheek. "You're far too pretty to go to waste. You can come with me."_

_He drew a knife from his sleeve and Mirany struggled harder to get away from him, but he didn't touch her with the blade. Instead, he cut into his own skin._

_Blood dripped from the wound and he grabbed Mirany's chin, forcing her mouth open and holding the cut up to her lips, letting the blood dribble inside her mouth._

"_Drink love," he said. "Soon you'll be like me."_

_Mirany tried not to gulp down the liquid that now seemed to be pouring into her mouth but as it started to run down her throat, she grasped Angelus' arm and sucked at the wound until it was dry._

"_Good girl," whispered the vampyre. "Don't worry my love. You won't take long to change. I'll see you when you wake up."_

_Mirany's vision blurred as her heart started to slow. By the time she had hit the ground, it had stopped completely._

...

Angel couldn't believe his ears. He turned and stared at Mirany.

"You're a Slayer?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes," said Mirany grudgingly. "I don't think the Powers That Be were thinking straight when they hired me."

Mirany caught sight of his smile and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What?" she asked.

In response to this question, Angel lifted her up by her legs and she wrapped them around his waist, her arms around his neck.

"You may have lost your hair," she said. "But you definitely haven't lost your touch."

"I like it short," said Angel defensively.

Mirany ran her hand through it and wiped off the excess hair gel on Angel's shoulder.

"So do I," she said, leaning down and kissing him. "But I would try to limit the amount of hair gel you put in it. It's all slimy."

"Well excuse me for not being able to use a mirror," said Angel.

"Don't you ever read the instructions on those things?" asked Mirany. "You're only supposed to use a little bit. Just enough to make it firm, not slimy."

"You seem very up to date for some who was born nearly four hundred years ago," said Angel.

"Three-hundred and four, thank you very much," said Mirany, annoyed.

"Close enough," said Angel, shrugging.

"Is not," said Mirany indignantly. "Do I look four-hundred to you?"

"Drop it Mirany," said Angel. "You look young enough to be my daughter. Which, technically, you are."

At this, Mirany smiled and changed the subject, getting off Angel and starting to walk again.

"So, how do you afford so much hair gel?" she asked.

"I'm a demonic PI," said Angel. "People come and say that a demon took their best friend or something, I find the demon and I kill it. It doesn't get a lot of business, but there's enough to pay the bills."

Mirany sniggered.

"You run a business? Not exactly the job I would have picked for you."

Angel rolled his eyes.

"Spike works with me."

"Spike?" asked Mirany. "As in William the Bloody, Spike?"

"Yep," said Angel. "He got a soul from gypsies too."

"It's been a while since I've seen Spike," said Mirany.

"I bet you still remember the first time though," said Angel, grinning.

"That is a memory that still seriously annoys me," said Mirany, scowling.

...

_1743_

"_See that girl over there?" whispered Angelus in Spike's ear, nodding at Mirany's back. "You should definitely take her."_

_Spike sneered at him, his white blonde hair hanging in his grey eyes._

"_Her? She's puny. She won't have enough blood in her for an appetiser."_

"_But have you smelt her?" asked Angelus. "She smells so sweet. I thought I'd let you have her. I filled up on the mayor."_

_Spike bared his fangs, grinning stupidly now._

"_I'll see you soon," he said, slipping into the shadows around the building and following Mirany down a back alley._

_Angelus followed at a distance. He was eager to see Mirany's face when Spike bit her. It was even worth Spike's outrage at him. And Mirany's when she found out that he had put Spike up to it. Spike was an old friend of his. In fact, he was his very first victim. He had been Angelus' companion for fifty years before they had gone their separate ways. Angelus had run into him just a few weeks before and had been keeping it a secret from Mirany, wanting to introduce her to Spike in a slightly less normal way._

_Spike crept up on Mirany - completely silent - and pounced on her, attaching his teeth to her jugular. Mirany yelled and threw Spike off him, sending him flying straight into a building. The blonde vampire slid down the wall, dazed._

"_What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" she snarled at him, her face changing in her anger._

_It took all Angelus' self control not to burst out laughing._

"_Oh dear Spike," he said. "Looks like you followed the wrong girl."_

_Mirany and Spike both glared at him._

"_You evil…" started Spike but Mirany cut over him._

"_You put him up to this?" she asked, advancing on Angelus._

"_You get him girl," said Spike._

"_I'll get to you," Mirany snapped at him, shutting him up._

"_Mirany, there was a girl near you that looked very similar to you from the back. I told him to follow her, not you. Spike got it wrong and holds full responsibility over this."_

"_You're Spike?" Mirany barked at him._

_Spike nodded._

"_You're an idiot. Could you hear a heart beat when you were following me?"_

"_W…w…well I…I wasn't really paying attention to it," stuttered Spike._

_Mirany, though she was getting better at spotting Angelus' lies, was still very easy to trick into anything. Angelus watched with vindictive pleasure as Spike backed away from Mirany._

"_You're very lucky she's in a good mood Spike," said Angelus. "She'll only beat you up a little bit."_

"_This is a good mood?" Spike squeaked._

"_It's as good as it's going to get around you," snapped Mirany._

"_Let him off this time, love," said Angelus, wrapping his arms around Mirany's waist. "He's sure to stuff up again and you can murder him then. But for the moment, let him be an idiot. He's only going to be with us for a little while."_

_Mirany glared at Spike, considering. Spike could tell that she was having difficulty trying to decide whether to fight off her hormones and continue killing him or whether to let him off the hook. But her love for Angelus was too strong and she turned to him, her arms slithering around his neck._

"_Alright. Just this once."_

...

"So," said Angel. "When did you become the Slayer?"

"A couple of years back. When that blonde chick died. Buffy, I think."

"Buffy," sighed Angel. "Do you know how she died?"

"Drusilla," said Mirany. "I like her style actually. The whole, torture then kill thing works for her. You knew the Slayer? Huh, guess you really did have a soul if you didn't…"

Mirany caught Angel's expression and quickly changed the subject.

"Do I know anyone else that works with you?"

"I very much doubt it," said Angel. "Cordelia Chase, she's a twenty-five year old version of you, without the vampire features, Wesley Wydam-Pryce, he's a…"

"Watcher," finished Mirany. "I've met him. Nice looking guy. Brown hair and glasses right? He tried to stake me once actually. Well, I suppose he had reason to. I did t…"

"I don't want to hear it," said Angel, holding a finger to her lips. "Really. Spare me the details. Anyway, there's also Francis Doyle, he's a cross breed. A something cross human, I forget. He gets visions from the PTB's. They tell him when someone's in trouble. Black hair and green eyes. Charles Gunn, he's black and lived on the streets for a while, so he's pretty muscular."

"That's a lot of people for some like you to wind up."

"Not finished yet. There's also Winifred Burkle. We just call her Fred. She's small, does research. She's not a fighter. Mousy brown hair and hazel eyes. And Lorne, our favourite demon."

"I thought Doyle was the demon."

"Half demon," said Angel. "Lorne runs a demon karaoke bar. He can get info on things pretty quickly. And he's full demon. Green and red."

"Oh."

"And you," said Angel.

Mirany looked up at Angel, her eyes shining.

"Really?" she asked.

"I live in a hotel. We have more than enough spare rooms both above ground and underground. And we can never run out of muscle."

Mirany frowned slightly.

"What about the others? What about Wesley? He'll kill me if he sees me again and Spike. We haven't exactly ever gotten along well."

"So, you're scared of a Watcher that has no muscles and a vampire that has a crush on you?" asked Angel. "I still don't understand you."

"You seriously don't think that they'll try to hurt me?"

"Wesley might try and Spike will hit on you but you can take that. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise."

Mirany stopped and kissed Angel again.

"I have to say, I've missed that," said Angel when they broke apart.

"Well you don't have to anymore," said Mirany. "I accept your offer. Lead the way."

"Not just yet," said Angel, pressing his lips to hers again.

...

Angel knew that Wesley was the type to hold a grudge, especially when it concerned a vampire, but he had hoped that Mirany hadn't done too much to him. He was very wrong. Wesley's cry of rage was enough to prove that.

"What the bloody hell is she here for?" he asked, already drawing a stake from his belt. "Why isn't she dust yet?"

Spike stared at Mirany in amazement and Cordy, Gunn and Fred all stared at Wesley in confusion.

"What's going on?" asked Cordy. "Is she a vampire?"

"She's the vampire that killed my father and tortured me," snapped Wesley.

Mirany bit her lip as she used Angel as a shield against Wesley.

"Sit down Wesley. She's the Slayer. She's got a soul," Angel snapped at Wesley, then stared at Mirany. "You killed his father _and_ tortured him?"

"You said you didn't want to know," she said weakly. "Um, okay. Wesley, is it? I'm not here to kill people. Like Angel said, I'm the Slayer and I have a soul. What I don't have is a Watcher."

"Another vampire with a soul," muttered Fred. "Must be becoming a fashion."

"Wesley, I don't care if she murdered all of England," said Cordy. "She looks like me which means she has some fashion sense. You should become her Watcher. Any vampire with a taste for good clothes is not allowed to be dusted and certainly entitled to a Watcher. Oh wait, that doesn't really work. Angel and Spike's fashion sense…"

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'she's got a soul so she's not going to hurt anyone any more' but if you have to go with fashion sense," said Angel, cutting over her.

"Fine," spat Wesley. "I'll be the vampire's Watcher."

"Can I ask what your name is?" asked Fred, addressing Mirany. "I doubt it's 'she' or 'the vampire.'"

"Mirany," she said.

"Now this brings back memories," said Spike.

"Bad ones," said Wesley angrily.

"If you try to attack her I will snap your neck," said Angel threateningly. "Mirany's a part of the team now. Respect that."

Wesley glared at him.

"She…"

"I know what she did Wesley and I'm sure Mirany regrets it but there's nothing she can do about it," snarled Angel. "If there was, I know she would have already done it. And it's not as if you liked your father. That was probably the best moment of your life to see him being killed. And as for torturing you, be thankful she didn't kill you, though if you keep this up it won't have counted for much."

Wesley frowned as he slowly sat back down.

"My name's Fred," said Fred, trying to give the lobby a happier atmosphere again. "Well, actually it's Winifred but nobody calls me that anymore. And this is Cordelia."

"Nice to meet you," said Mirany.

"Where's Gunn?" asked Angel.

"Pontish demon tried to take off his arm," said Spike. "He should be back soon."

"And Doyle?"

"Does anyone know where Doyle goes?" asked Cordy pointedly, getting up and pulling Mirany over to the couch. "How do you get your hair like this if you can't see what you're doing?"

"Practice," grunted Mirany. "Look, I'm tired, it's nearly sun-up, we can fuss over my hair tomorrow. Or maybe the night after. I don't plan on getting up for a while."

Angel smirked. She had no chance of that.

"You can sleep in my room for now. Come on. I'll take you downstairs."

"No need Angel," said Spike. "You probably have some paperwork to complete. I'll take her down for you. You go do whatever you need to do."

Mirany rolled her eyes and kissed Angel to prove her point.

"I think she'd prefer it if I took her down Spike, but thanks for offering to do my paperwork for me," said Angel, still smirking as he led Mirany downstairs.

"Underground rooms. Nifty," said Mirany.

"It was difficult to find this place," said Angel. "Underground areas are not popular in hotels."

"Why a hotel?"

"Because everyone else lives here too. This is it."

Angel held the door open for Mirany and she walked into the room, looking around. Angel's walls were covered with weapons hanging on hooks and sitting in brackets. The little bits of the walls she could see were coloured a deep crimson red.

"You don't like visitors down here, do you?" asked Mirany.

"Not enough people come down here for me to answer that," said Angel.

"I though so," said Mirany. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"Anything for my girl," said Angel, stroking Mirany's cheek.

"Now that is what I've missed," said Mirany.


	2. Unstable

Mirany, Angel and Spike crept silently towards the ugly demon. Its large rectangular head was producing deafening snores, far more deafening for the three vampires than for any human being. Angel raised his sword - ready to swing - when the demon sprung to life. It spun around and hit Angel hard in the chest, striking him by surprise and throwing him backwards into the wall of the cavern, his sword flying out of his hand.

Mirany and Spike darted around it, trying to find an opening, but its ten tentacle-like arms blocked their every move. Angel jumped back onto his feet and groped for his sword. The demon reached over to the wall and seized one of five children chained to it. The chains broke easily as it pulled the small boy forwards. Mirany, Spike and Angel froze, fearful for the child's life.

"Weapons down everyone," said the demon in a low gurgle of a voice. "Or the kiddie gets it."

Mirany put down her sword and knife slowly, not taking her eyes off the boy, and Spike lowered his battle axe to the floor.

"Good. Now back away, nice and slowly."

The three started to inch backwards. They got to what they felt was a reasonable distance away from the creature and stopped.

"Bit further," egged the demon. "Bit further."

The demon let out a harsh bark of laughter.

"You didn't really think I would let him survive did you?" he asked.

The three vampires dived for their discarded weapons but they were too late. The demon wrapped its tentacles around the child's neck and snapped it. Angel scooped up his sword and Spike grabbed his axe. Mirany left the men to fight while she freed the rest of the kids. They ran straight for the door and out into the night.

"Now look what you've done," roared the demon. "You just made me lose my lunch."

He reached out for Mirany but she sliced off his long arm, causing him to howl with pain and rage. Mirany gulped as it's nine other tentacles wrapped around her. But the demon had forgotten about Angel and Spike. Angel stabbed it through the chest and it screamed.

"I have to say that for someone with such a low voice, you scream like a girl," said Spike.

The demon collapsed to the floor and Angel withdrew his sword.

"You okay?" he asked Mirany.

"Yeah," said Mirany, staring at the young boy's body as she climbed out of the wall of demon tentacle. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The boy couldn't have been older than five. His bright blue eyes were glazed over and his mouth was open in a silent scream. Angel and Spike didn't seem to be all too worried about it - you win some and you lose some they had said the last time they couldn't save someone - but Mirany couldn't shake the feeling that they had done something very wrong when they had planned their attack strategy.

"Let's go," said Spike. "It stinks down here."

Mirany and Angel linked hands and they left the cavern. All the way back to the hotel, at which Angel Investigations lived, Mirany was completely silent, still thinking about the child.

...

"How'd it go?" asked Lorne when they walked into the lobby. "Did you slay the vicious beast?"

"We did," said Angel.

Lorne clapped his green hands together.

"Well done," he said, his red eyes sparkling.

Mirany walked quickly into her office, not wanting to talk to anyone. Unfortunately her Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, was in there.

"You're back already?" he said, surprised. "I expected you to be gone for at least another half an hour."

"Time is of the essence," said Mirany, slumping into her chair.

"You did kill it didn't you?"

"We did, but not before it killed someone else."

"You win some and you lose some," said Wesley, shrugging.

"Is there any particular reason why you're in my office Wes?"

"I was just leaving actually. I was returning some of your books."

"Well then, good bye."

Wesley took the hint and left without another word. Mirany placed the sword carefully on her desk and stuck the knife back into her boot.

...

Angel came up from his basement quarters the next night to find Cordelia looking extremely worried. She was fiddling with her long brown hair in a nervous sort of way that Angel always associated with trouble. When she spotted Angel, she leapt to her feet.

"Angel, thank God you're up. I need to talk to you."

"Shoot," said Angel.

"In your office," said Cordy.

Angel raised an eyebrow but opened the door and let held it open for Cordy.

"What's up?"

"It's Mirany."

"What about her?" asked Angel.

"She didn't go downstairs last night. She just stayed in her office all day. I only know she was awake because she kept storming into Wesley's office. She's a living tornado. I tried to talk to her but she went all _grr_ face on me."

Angel looked at Cordy.

"I'll talk to her."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Cordy at once. "I've never seen her this angry before. I don't think Wesley has either."

"Why would you tell me about this if you didn't want me to do something about it? Leave it to me. I can deal with her," said Angel.

...

Angel walked into Mirany's office cautiously. Cordelia had warned him non stop about Mirany's temper and he was wondering if it was as bad as it sounded. Angel knew almost the moment he walked in that it was as bad, if not worse, as Cordy's description.

Mirany was sitting at her desk, her hands glowing aqua blue, sending jets of sparks at everything in her office. Books were blasted off their shelves and weapons were sent flying into the floor. Angel ducked as an axe swung towards his head.

"Mirany!" he yelled, over the crashing of more of Mirany's many possessions.

Mirany stopped shooting jets of sparks at her walls, but didn't turn off the magick completely. Her hands still glowed faintly. She stood up and walked over to Angel.

"What?" she asked snappishly.

"I heard you've been having a bad day."

"No Angel. I'm ruining my office and I haven't had a bad day."

"You're cold," observed Angel.

"Well you can just deal with that, can't you?"

"Hey, you don't have to bite my head off. I haven't done anything to you. Have I?"

"I don't bite heads off, I rip throats out," corrected Mirany, her face turning into its vampire form in her anger. "And right now your throat is looking pretty darn tempting."

"So's yours," snapped Angel.

Mirany glared at him, then turned and sat back down at her desk. Angel walked around to the back of her chair and leant against it.

"What's wrong Mirany? You've never gotten like this before."

"You can't know that," said Mirany. "I've only been working with you for a few months."

"You haven't answered my question."

"Nothing's wrong. I told you last night, I'm fine."

"No you're not," said Angel, rubbing Mirany's shoulders. "You are definitely not fine."

"Don't touch me," snarled Mirany.

She turned around and sent a punch towards Angel's face. He dodged it but Mirany wasn't finished. Angel's face changed as Mirany sent attack after attack at him.

"Mirany, calm down. I don't want to hurt you."

"Well you better get over that real quick because I'm not about to stop," snarled Mirany.

"You leave me no choice."

Angel dodged the jet of green light sent at his middle and grabbed Mirany's arms. He slammed her into the wall and held her up against it.

"Get of me Angel."

Mirany's face was flicking between vampire and human. She was obviously not sure on whether she was angry or hurt.

"Why'd you attack me?" he asked, still holding tightly to Mirany's arms.

"I can't control myself Angel," said Mirany, her face settling on human form as tears sparkled in the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"Then figure it out," snarled Angel. "Because I can press you against this wall all night if I have to."

Mirany's face turned suddenly furious and her eyes flashed, along with her hands. Angel was blasted off his feet and slammed into the opposite wall.

"When you can keep that promise, I might just let you," said Mirany aggressively.

It was then that Angel realised just how dangerous Mirany was. Not only was she a vampire and Slayer, but she was still an unstable teenager at heart. She had no idea how to control her temper. Angel had seen her lose it before now but he had never seen it take her over like this.

"Come on Angel. Get up and fight like a vampire. Or are you afraid that you might hurt me? Well guess what, that's not going to be easy. You'd have to be stronger and faster than me and guess what, you're neither of those things. If you have any pride, you'll get up and fight me."

Angel felt Angelus starting to break the barrier that Angel had built to keep him inside. _She's not thinking straight. Something's happened to her that's making her act this way. She doesn't know what she's doing._ Angel hoped against hope that he believed that as much as he wanted to. Angel struggled to keep the terrible taint of his soul from taking control of his body once again but it wasn't easy. He couldn't attack Mirany properly while he loved her. Angelus didn't love her. He couldn't feel love. Angel knew Angelus was likely to be his only hope if he wanted to come out of this alive, or as alive as he could be.

Mirany was shaking, obviously trying to pull herself back together.

"Angel…go. Don't…stay here. Not with me. Get the others and…and go. At least until I can…until I can control myself."

_See,_ Angel told himself. _There is still some part of her that doesn't want to do this. I just hope that part can take control over the other parts again._

"Angel, now," grunted Mirany, her face going vampire on her.

Angel got slowly to his feet but didn't move towards the door. He had a strange feeling that he knew what was going on. Some time in the last twenty-four hours, Mirany had dropped her guard and her vampiric half had broken through the barrier Mirany had built for it, which meant that Mirany couldn't control herself.

"Mirany, listen to me," he said, quietly but urgently. "Is this really what you want to be? Do you want to go around killing anyone and everyone in sight like you once did?"

Mirany fell to all fours, gasping in pain as she tried desperately to force the vampire back.

"Mirany, you're not listening."

Angel grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back to her feet.

"You don't have to surrender to it. Don't do it Mirany. You can fight it. Don't let it get to you."

"Angel, I said GO!"

Mirany twisted away from Angel as she gave an inhuman roar.

"Control yourself Mirany," said Angel, ignoring her. "You don't have to change back to what you were. Control it. Don't let it get into your head."

Angel could see that Mirany was struggling as hard as she could, desperate not to transform back into the terror she had been. Angel took a step away from her. There was nothing else he could do to help her. All he could do now was watch and be at the ready, in case she couldn't fight her true form back. Mirany struggled for nearly ten minutes, before she fell to the floor, panting hard, despite the fact that she did not need to breathe.

Angel took a careful step forward and when Mirany did not look up, he rushed to her side.

"Mirany?" he asked, putting a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Mirany, are you okay?"

Mirany groaned loudly but she could feel that her other half was back behind the barrier where she belonged.

Angel gently rolled her over and stared at her stark-white face.

"Oh Angel. I'm sorry. I couldn't…"

"Don't worry about it," soothed Angel, brushing her cheek lightly with the back of his hand. "I'm just glad you're all right."

He pulled Mirany to her feet and held her to him. Angel could feel her shaking as she came back to her senses.

"That was too close Mirany," said Angel, deadly serious. "This is getting too dangerous. We have to find a way for you to keep your guard up. You've dropped your guard before and each time it's getting harder for you to put it back up."

"I know," groaned Mirany, pulling away from Angel's chest. "I'm putting my friends in danger. I can't stay here. I'll hurt someone. I have to…"

"Mirany, no. We'll find a way to stop this. You don't have to leave."

"I nearly killed Wesley," said Mirany. "I was about to bite him. He had to press a cross against my chest."

Angel pulled Mirany back into his chest and rested his chin on her head.

"Calm down. He's okay. He's prepared for this sort of thing. Everyone here is prepared for this."

"Exactly, everyone is prepared for me to lose it."

"They're also prepared for me and Spike to lose it too Mirany. It's not that big a deal. We can make sure it doesn't happen again."

"I'm sorry Angel," said Mirany, tears glistening in her eyes again. "But…I can't stay here."

"I love you," said Angel, stroking Mirany's cheek. "Don't go. Please, don't go."

Mirany sighed and gave Angel a swift kiss, before hurrying out of her office. Angel stared after her, desperately trying to process what had just happened before Mirany could leave.

"Mirany!" he called, dashing back out of her office.

"She's gone Angel," said Cordy. "I couldn't stop her. She just said 'I'm leaving' and dashed out. I'm sorry."

Angel ran out of the hotel and looked around wildly. He saw Mirany at the end of the street but she was too far away for him to catch her now.

...

"Angel, if Mirany walked out, she won't want to be found," said Wesley. "And if she doesn't want to be found, I can assure she won't be."

"I'll find her Wesley. I don't care what it takes. I _will_ get her back."

"Sorry to say this, but Wes is right," said Doyle. "It'll take a lot more than yer powers ta find 'er."

"She's not at Lorne's," said Angel, pacing up and down the hotel and not listening to a word Doyle was saying. "She's not at any of her usual spots. Where else would she go?"

"Abroad?" guessed Spike. "That's where I'd go if I wanted to get away."

"I don't think so. She'd want to stay in a place where she had connections."

"Sunnydale?" guessed Cordy.

"No. I'd know. Someone would call. They'd want to know what had happened," said Angel. "She'll be around here somewhere. She knows the area. She'll use that to keep away from us."

"Angel, she'll come back when she's ready," said Wesley.

"She won't get over this easily Wesley. If we don't find her, she won't get over it at all. Gunn, Doyle and Cordy, look for her during the day. Talk to everyone she knows. Wes and Fred, hit the books. Find out where she stayed longest when she was in LA last time, she might go back there. Spike and I will see if we can get anything out of any demons. Lorne, go back to the bar, talk to anyone Mirany knows, even creatures she doesn't. They might have seen something."

"I don't think we'll find anything Angel," said Wesley.

That was the last straw. Angel picked up his glass of blood and threw it against the wall.

"Find her," he snarled.

None dared argue after that and soon the team had split up, leaving only Angel and Fred in the lobby.

"She'll be okay Angel," said Fred. "She chose to leave. It's not as though she was kidnapped again. She'll be fine. Calm down."

"Yeah," said Angel distractedly. "I'm sure she will."

"Then what's wrong?" asked Fred.

"I…what if we do find her?" asked Angel, sitting down. "How do we get her back? I couldn't make her stay the first time."

"Angel, when you find her, you'll know what to do," said Fred.

"Being cryptic is not helping Fred."

"I know but it's true. You'll know how to get her back when you find her. Which you will Angel. No matter how hard Mirany tries. You'll find her."

Fred gave Angel a confident smile, which he did not return.

"Yeah, well. I hope you're right."

...

Mirany slammed her fist into the wall in frustration. She was three hundred years old and yet she didn't have any proof that she was old enough to get an ID. Mirany removed her hand from the large fist shaped dent she had put in the steel and slid down the wall, her face in her hands. She had no idea what she was going to do.

"Hey, li'le lady," said a man, staggering up to her. "You wanna 'ave some fun?"

He giggled as he reached down to grab Mirany. Mirany lost it. Face morphing she jumped to her feet and bit down into the man's flesh, draining as much blood as she could from the man. She let the body go and stared down at the crumpled heap of the man.

"Oh, that felt so good."

She stared around at her surroundings and caught sight of a chain that had been used to haul something heavy along behind a car or something similar. The chains reminded her of somewhere. It was the perfect place to hide while she got her bearings. Angel wouldn't find her. No one would. Who in the world would think to look for her there? And who would find out what she had become?

...

"Okay, it's been two weeks and all our leads have run dry," said Spike. "Bloody hell, she's a shadow."

"More like a ghost," said Cordy. "You can't see those unless they want you too."

"She's a vampire," said Angel. "How hard can she make this?"

"Really hard," muttered Cordy.

"Angel, 4-1-1," said Gunn, running in.

"Is that a number for wherever Mirany is?" asked Angel.

"It means he's got information," sighed Cordy.

"The butcher you lot get your blood from sent a person to deliver some blood to the old fishing warehouse."

"The place where Mirany was tortured by Drusilla? I know it was a good hundred or so years ago but it's still very unlikely that she'd be there," said Wesley. "Why would she go to that place?"

"Of course," said Angel. "She would go to the last place we would think to look. A place where she's close to everything but has got worse enough memories to keep us from looking there. Right, I'm going. Spike can drive me there. The rest of you, see if there might be anywhere else she would hide, in case she's not there."

"Right, let's go," said Spike.

"You might not want to do that," said Gunn.

"Why not?" asked Angel.

"There's a catch. The kid that delivered the blood to the warehouse never reported back. He disappeared off the face of the earth."

"Oh God," whispered Cordy.

"That's definitely not good," said Spike.

"Let's go then," said Angel, walking out of the lobby.

"I hope he knows what he's doing," said Cordy. "She won't be happy."

"Either that," said Gunn. "Or she'll be ecstatic."

...

"Please let that be the new delivery boy," said Mirany, turning around. "Damn it. I got my hopes up too quickly. It's only the vampire."

Angel looked around. Nothing in the warehouse had changed except for the teenage boy on the ground, who had obviously been the subject to Mirany's fists.

"Well I'm glad you haven't drunk him…yet."

"Angel, either stop talking or go away."

"I would but, this place just seems so cosy. You know, what with the smell of your blood still lingering in the air. And let's not forget the blood stained pokers. They really make the place feel like home."

Angel, it was a hundred years ago..." started Mirany.

"It's still here. Your memories. Our memories."

"Look, I know you feel betrayed…" started Mirany.

"Yes," interrupted Angel. "That is one of the unfortunate side effects of betrayal."

"…but I had to leave," finished Mirany.

"Well, you really knew how to pick a place to live," said Angel. "A place where you were formerly tortured is definitely what I would call cosy."

"What do you want me say Angel? That you're sooo smart for figuring out where I was? Oh come on, I made it easy for you. I even left a trail. Sure, a very small trail but if you had given me more time I could have seduced a couple more testosterone filled gits."

"Why'd you start to leave a trail?" asked Angel. "Getting bored of living on your own? Getting scared of the dark maybe?"

"Funny. You were sort of right with your first guess. Yeah, I'm getting bored. I'm getting bored of not being able to hit anything. Boys are no fun. You hit them once and they don't get back up for days. But you, you're definitely the best punching bag I can find. Demons won't come near this place for some reason so I've got nothing to do but sit and twiddle my thumbs. So I'm glad you found me. Really annoys me when I have to go to a fight. I prefer the fight to come to me."

"Mirany, I didn't come here to fight you," said Angel, making sure that he was out of Mirany's reach. "I came to convince you to come back."

"Fight first, convince later," said Mirany.

"Well, if you insist. I'm game."

Angel dodged Mirany's right hook and kicked her hard in the face. She fell to the ground but got right back up again. Mirany and Angel fought as hard as they could against each other, both releasing their feelings on each other until Angel kicked Mirany hard in the stomach and she gave up. Mirany fell to the floor with a groan and rolled away from him.

"You're a little out of shape," said Angel. "You okay?"

He held out his hand to help her up but Mirany just glared at him and pushed herself back to her feet.

"You came here to talk?" she pressed.

"Mirany, I want you back. We all want you back. You're part of the team. Without you…I miss you babe. I think about you all the time. I love…"

Mirany could feel her 'I don't care' attitude crumbling away very quickly and covered her ears.

"I don't need to hear this," she said, turning away from Angel.

"Mirany, please. Come back."

"No Angel. Leave. Now."

Angel sighed.

"If you ever do…forget it. You obviously never will."

Angel started to walk away. Mirany stood stock still, thinking hard.

"Angel?" she said.

Angel turned and Mirany pressed her lips to his, tears running down her face as he held her to him. It felt like an age before they finally broke apart.

"I'm guessing this means…" started Angel but Mirany pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"Don't say anything," she whispered. "Just hold me."

Angel didn't need telling twice. He kept Mirany at his chest as she shook in his arms.

"I love you," she whispered. "And I missed you too."


	3. Past and Present

_1694_

_Mirany looked on in disgust as Angelus sunk his teeth into the young girl's throat and drank deeply. She could hear the man's heart slowing down, his breathing becoming haggard and strained. Angelus looked up at her._

"_It is perfectly simple," he said, removing his fangs from the man's neck. He was still alive, though he was barely breathing and unconscious. "Come here. Do not be afraid. It is not difficult."_

_Mirany didn't move. Angelus growled impatiently and pulled the man over to her._

"_Smell him," he said. "Smell the richness of his blood. Drink love. You must drink something. You have just woken up. You have a terrible hunger, I know you do. I was the same. Drink him my love. Drink."_

_Mirany was rubbing her throat unconsciously, staring at the bite mark on the man's neck._

"_Mirany!" Angelus snapped, jerking her out of her trance. "Drink!"_

_Mirany shuddered._

"_Do I…is there not…?"_

_Angelus scowled, grabbing the hair at the back of her head and shoving her face against the man's neck. Mirany choked but drank at the blood. It slid down her throat easily, quenching her thirst and giving her an amazing feeling of satisfaction and pleasure._

_She was in a stupor of absolute ecstasy until the blood began to thin. She listened and couldn't hear a heartbeat. She squeaked and struggled against the older vampire's grip. Angelus let go of her and she staggered away from both him and the corpse, shaking._

"_See, wasn't that the most amazing sensation?" asked Angelus. "You cannot tell me that you have felt something better."_

"_What am I?" Mirany shuddered. "What have you made me?"_

_Angelus stared at her. She was still backing away, shaking like a mouse standing before a cat._

"_I am not a killer," she muttered. "I am not a killer. God please, forgive me. Forgive me my Lord. Please, forgive me."_

_She turned and hurried away from her companion. Angelus sighed and followed her, leaving the body in the alley._

"_Mirany. Mirany!"_

_He sped up and got in front of her, grabbing hold of her shoulders. She struggled against him, trying to get away, but even with her new found strength she was still no match for Angelus. He scowled at her and lifted her off the ground, carrying her back to his apartment._

"_Let me go!" she screamed in his ear, hitting his back and twisting and turning with a force that would have freed her from any normal man's clutches, trying to free herself from him. He did not let her go. "I cannot do this! I do not want this!"_

_Angelus dropped her on the bed and held her down before she could get away. She writhed against him, desperately trying to release herself from his grasp._

"_Please," she sobbed. "Please, let me go."_

_She stopped thrashing and lay helplessly on the bed, crying uncontrollably._

"_I did not ask for this," she said. "Why did you do this to me? What have you done? Why me?"_

"_Mirany, listen to me," said Angelus clearly but gently. "I know it's hard. But it will not be hard for much longer. You are still changing. You still have some of your humanity. It will go away."_

"_Angelus please," said Mirany through shuddering sobs. "Have mercy. Kill me please."_

"_I will not kill you," said Angelus patiently. "Mirany, it will pass. It is not for much longer. But you will make it go quicker if you keep killing. You are not full yet Mirany, I know you are not. Come back outside and we will find you a meal."_

_Mirany shook her head._

"_I will not," she said shakily. "You will not make me. You cannot. I will not do it. I will not kill again!"_

"_Get up!" Angelus snapped. "Do not be stupid. This is who you are. This is who you are going to be from now on. Get used to it!"_

_Mirany glared up at him, no longer crying._

"_You will not make me," she repeated._

_Angelus growled and dragged her to her feet._

"_I can and will," he said dangerously. "Pull yourself together girl."_

"_I will not drink human blood," said Mirany firmly, her voice quivering with horror and anger. "I will not kill my own kind."_

"_Your own kind?" asked Angelus angrily. "Your own kind didn't even mourn your passing. You saw them tonight. They were going about their business as though nothing had changed. They swept you aside as though you were nothing but a speck of dust on their floors. Even your so called friends were not grieving your death. You were only a burden to them. They do not miss you. You have the chance now to take your revenge on them. To make them remember you forever more."_

"_I will not," said Mirany. "I hold no grudge."_

_Angelus snarled at her and she recoiled, but he quickly composed himself._

"_Alright," he said, obviously trying hard to control himself. "Alright. You do not want to kill humans. But you still have to eat. Let us find you a horse."_

…

Mirany jerked awake and stared around the room frantically. Angel had woken when she had, and was sitting up. Mirany jumped as he laid a hand on her shoulder before realizing that he was not Angelus any more.

"Mirany, what's wrong?" he asked, running his fingers through her hair.

"Nothing," Mirany breathed, lying back down. "I…I'm fine. Just a dream."

…

_1699_

_Angelus laughed heartily at Mirany, who scowled at him._

"_Why do you obsess over trying to make me drink human blood?" she asked, shoving the young boy back at Angelus._

"_Mirany, it's unnatural," said Angelus, smirking at her as he fingered the boy's hair. "You are supposed to drink human blood. That is what you were made to do."_

_The boy was terrified. He was shaking and as Angelus ran his fingers through his hair he whimpered, but the sound was muffled under the gag. He was crying and Mirany looked away, disgusted._

"_Just do it," she said. "But do not make me suffer also."_

_Angelus shook his head exasperatedly._

"_Not this time," he said._

_Before Mirany knew what he was doing, Angelus had seized her hair and pulled her towards him. She glared at him as he pulled her up onto her toes, drawing her to his eye level._

"_You will drink," he snarled. "And you will drink human blood."_

_Mirany was determined not to let her face change, determined not to bend to his will. Angelus growled._

"_You cannot play that with me," he said._

_Mirany squeaked as he hit her hard in the face, but she did not change. That didn't sway Angelus though, who continued to swing at her. __Mirany finally gave in, growling at him. Angelus smiled grimly and shoved her head down towards the child's neck. Mirany could not stop herself from cutting through his skin and she sunk her fangs into his flesh, choking at the start but soon moving to the stage of pleasure. The child began to wail through the gag, and though Mirany tried to pull away, Angelus would not let her stop until the boy had collapsed._

_Mirany straightened up and snarled angrily at him, baring her fangs at Angelus, clenching and unclenching her fists. Angelus didn't even falter._

"_Did that not taste so much better than the filth that you drink?" asked Angelus._

"_How dare you?" she hissed. "How dare you?"_

_She swung at him but Angelus caught her fist and twisted her arms behind her back, throwing her into the bedroom. Mirany growled at him as he advanced on her._

"_You are testing my patience," he snarled, grabbing her wrists and forcing her down on the bed. "I have no time for a woman who does not listen to her superiors."_

"_At least I have a conscience," said Mirany shakily._

"_You are not supposed to have a conscience," said Angelus. "You are a vampire. You do not have a soul any more. You should not feel compassion."_

_Mirany remained stony towards him, even though he had climbed on top of her with her wrists above her head._

"_You are not my superior. I am not ruled by you," she said._

_Angelus snarled so angrily at her that she would have shrunk back in fear if she could have moved backwards._

"_This is my last warning," he said dangerously. "You will listen to me and you will obey me like any normal woman should."_

"_I am not normal," said Mirany. "You just said so yourself. I live the way I have to, it does not affect you. Why are you trying to change this?"_

"_Because I am worried about you," said Angelus softly, rubbing his cheek against hers. "You cannot live off animal blood, it is not healthy, nor is it proper. We need human blood Mirany, it is what we have to live off. Animal blood can satisfy us for a short time but in the long term it will affect you terribly. Please, drink human blood."_

"_I will drink when I am ready," said Mirany firmly._

_Angelus sighed._

"_I knew that letting you drink animals while you were still changing was a bad idea," he muttered. "This cannot go on for much longer Mirany. I will make this stop."_

"_I dare you to try," said Mirany threateningly._

…

Angel shook Mirany awake. She squeaked and drew away from him when she first saw him.

"Mirany, it's okay, it's me," said Angel.

"Angelus," Mirany muttered.

Angel stared at her.

"Mirany, it's Angel, it's okay."

He reached out to brush her fringe out of her eyes but Mirany flinched.

"Mirany, what were you dreaming about?" asked Angel.

"I…I…nothing," said Mirany softly.

"You called me Angelus."

"I forgot where I was," said Mirany quickly, sitting up.

Angel kissed her neck lightly, working his way up her jaw line.

"You're lying to me," he said, continuing his journey up the side of her face.

Mirany closed her eyes and ran her fingers through his hair.

"It doesn't matter," she breathed. "It was just a dream."

Angel growled impatiently, looking at her exasperatedly.

"You honestly believe I'm going to fall for that?" he asked.

"Can you try?" asked Mirany hopefully.

"Mirany, what aren't you telling me?" asked Angel.

"You know everything already," said Mirany shortly.

Angel moved away from her, staring at her curiously. Mirany lay back down and fell asleep again while Angel continued to figure out what she meant.

…

_1703_

_Angelus entered the room, carrying a young girl in his arms. She was fast asleep, unaware of the danger she was in, though she looked to be in a pretty bad position already. She was sweaty with a fever and her eyes were dark hollows in her skull._

"_Found her with her mother," he said happily. "Mother had the plague, she was dying anyway. Wasn't hard for me to kill her and grab this little one. Look at her Mirany. So fresh. So rich."_

_Mirany now knew why the girl looked so terrible. She, like her mother before her, had the plague._

"_And s__o completely yours," she said pointedly._

_Angelus blinked, his face falling into a scowl._

"_I go to all this trouble to get you a nice meal and all you do is turn your nose up at it?" he asked incredulously. "Is that any way to treat my kindness?"_

"_You yourself just told me it was easy to get the girl and you know as well as I do that I do not drink humans," said Mirany calmly._

"_I did not just take her for a meal," said Angelus carefully. "I am aware of your current obsession at the moment."_

"_And what might that be?" asked Mirany coolly._

"_A daughter," said Angelus. "And since we cannot have a child of our own, I thought perhaps…"_

_Mirany looked up at him, trying to read his face as his voice trailed away._

"_It does not do to duel on dreams," she said. "I would not dare to hurt someone so young in such a terrible way. So much life…lost."_

"_You look at life as though it is the most important part of living," said Angelus. "Can you not see that death is more beautiful, more enchanting, more mysterious than the life by which the person has led?"_

"_You are trying to get me to make a child walk the earth as we do. Never feeling, never dying. I will not do that to someone so young. I am not the monster you are."_

"_You seem to be feeling alright," Angelus muttered. "And might I remind you that dwelling on the past in no better than dwelling on dreams. You are still angry at me for taking you through the change. You are so angry that you do not see what is happening to you. You are becoming human again."_

"_Then let us hope I stay angry," said Mirany shortly._

"_You are a vampire, you kill, it is your nature, you cannot become human, you should not try," said Angelus forcefully, laying the girl down on the bed. "If you are not willing to change the girl, the least you could do is drink her. She has just lost her mother, she has no one left. Kill her before she has to feel the pain of loss. She is dying anyway. She's sick Mirany. Should she not be allowed to live because of a disease? Of a human flaw? She has so much ahead of her, yet with this..."_

_He gestured at the girl._

_"...she is going to die. Does she not have the right to experience the world that is so cruelly about to take her away?"_

_Mirany stroked the girl's forehead softly. Angelus rolled his eyes exasperatedly._

"_I know what you're thinking Mirany and I will not allow it," he said. "If she is to stay with us, she must not have a heartbeat."_

"_What wasted life," Mirany whispered. "What sorrow she must have gone through, watching her mother slowly die from disease."_

_Angelus sat down beside Mirany and wrapped his arms around her waist._

"_You can make that stop," he said in her ear. "You have the power to alter the course of a life. In this case, it would be a blessing. It would be a blessing to most of this earth. You can choose to remain on your diet of cattle and vermin, or you can choose to stop sorrow and pain. Stop the things that humanity dread. You can help people."_

_Mirany closed her eyes for a moment, then she opened them again. They were yellow and her teeth had grown to fangs. She lay down beside the girl and gently brushed the hair from her small neck. Caressing the child, she swiftly punctured her skin and drank. The girl did not wake up as she drained her life energy and, after a few minutes, Angelus pulled her away from Mirany._

…

"Alright, that's it," said Angel as Mirany woke again. "What's on your mind?"

Mirany glared up at him.

"Now, Mirany," said Angel. "I'm not going to wake you up again."

Mirany tried to wriggle away from him but he grabbed her shoulders and held her down.

"I don't want to resort to the old ways but I will," he said warningly.

Mirany was trying not to look at him. Angel growled.

"I'm just…they're just dreams," she said.

Angel scoffed.

"Dreams," he said. "If they were just dreams, you wouldn't be so reluctant to tell me."

Mirany tried jerking out of his grip but he had gotten on top of her. She struggled harder and he slapped her. Mirany stared up at him, tears in her eyes.

"Did you just…?" she started. "How could you…?"

She threw him off her and jumped to her feet.

"How dare you?" she asked, shaking. "How dare you?"

"Mirany, I didn't mean…" started Angel, who looked like he deeply regretted his actions. "I lost control Mirany. You know I didn't mean…"

"You have brought nothing but pain and misery to me," Mirany snarled. "You meant every move, every word. I thought perhaps you'd changed when you got your soul, but now I see that you're still the same filthy, stinking idiot that you've always been."

Angel stared at her.

"Mirany…I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

"MY LIFE!" Mirany shouted. "MY LIFE AND WHAT YOU DID TO IT!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON ABOUT?" Angel yelled back. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU? WHAT WERE YOU DREAMING ABOUT?"

Mirany didn't answer. She stood snarling at Angel for a moment before storming out of the room. Angel stood staring for a moment before dashing out of the room, following her, but when he entered the next room, Mirany had already disappeared and Angel had no way of knowing which way she had gone.

...

_1703_

_Angelus lifted the girl carefully into his arms, her frail body flopping helplessly, a tiny trickle of blood running down her neck. Mirany had thought he had meant to take the body away, but she didn't realise what he was going to do until far too late. Mirany squeaked as she realised she had just helped do the one thing she had sworn she would not. Angelus bit into his wrist and, as he had done to Mirany that fateful night, held it against the girl's mouth. Mirany jumped to her feet, but the deed was done. The girl woke from death and sucked at Angelus' arm until he finally pulled her away. There was a silence so loud it was deafening to Mirany and then the girl collapsed again, dead for all eternity._

_Mirany rounded on Angelus._

_"Bastard," she said shakily. "You absolute bastard!"_

_She dived at him and he grabbed her around the shoulders, taking the beating she was giving him before the tirade of anger that she was releasing finally weakened until she was resting her head against his chest, crying._

_"She's just a girl," she sobbed. "She's so young. She won't understand. She won't cope."_

_"Hush Mirany," said Angelus gently, running his fingers through her hair. "She'll be fine. We'll teach her, together, you and I."_

...

"You know, hiding is a lot more effective if you don't hide in obvious places," said Angel, sitting down beside Mirany in the bar.

Mirany grunted, fingering the glass of coke.

"But I'm curious as to what it is exactly that you're hiding from," said Angel. "And why you're not drowning your sorrows in something that actually affects your brain."

"I'm not drinking because I'm still underage," said Mirany through gritted teeth, glaring at the bartender.

Angel chuckled.

"I'll take the blame for that," he said.

"Too right you will," Mirany growled.

Angel ran his fingers through her hair.

"Why won't you tell me?" he asked. "What is it that you can't tell me about?"

"You were there Angel," said Mirany. "You already know everything there is to know. Every stinking detail of those first years."

Angel stared at her.

"When you first became a vampire?" he asked. "This is what you're worrying about? Are we not past that stage yet?"

Mirany ignored him.

"Why are you dreaming about that now anyway?" asked Angel. "Do you want another daughter? Because the first one didn't go too well, what with the trying to kill us both and everything."

"No," Mirany growled.

"What then?" asked Angel. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"Will you care?" asked Mirany.

"Look Mirany, I didn't mean to slap you. I lost control for a moment. But you had too. Of course I'll care. I'm not Angelus anymore Mirany. Please tell me what's wrong."

Mirany sighed.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe it's because I've gone back to drinking animal blood, which, by the way, you were wrong about."

"Yeah, I know you can live off the stuff," said Angel. "So I was wrong about that one."

"Do you ever think what life would have been like for you if you hadn't become a vampire? Would you have married? Settled down? Got a good job? Have kids even?"

"No," said Angel, running his fingers through her hair. "And neither should you. You shouldn't come up with fantasties of a life not lived."

"But what if...what if you could change what happened? What if I could go back in time and tell myself not to go outside that night?" asked Mirany. "Surely you think that maybe if you ahd stayed in that bar just a few more minutes, you'd never have met Darla and you'd never have become a vampire."

"Then I'd never have met you," said Angel. "I'd never have married or settled down or got a good job or had had kids. I'd just be some drunk in an alleyway out back of the tavern. You're only thinking of the good things that you'd have missed, you're not thinking about the bad. If you hadn't become a vampire, your father rpobably would have forced you to marry, which would have meant having about twenty kids, following after your husband and tending to his every desire...and dying a shivelled overworked woman if you weren't killed off by sickness."

"But for years I wasn't suited to being a vampire. I wouldn't drink human blood, I wouldn't do the terrible things that I did after Eliza. If it hadn't been for a vampire child that shouldn't have existed, I would probably still have been living off animals when I got my soul. I went back to drinking animal blood so happily. I couldn't wait to be living off pigs and cows and whatever else the butcher had."

"So you were a little more human than most," said Angel. "So what? Mirany, why are you thinking about this?"

"When Doyle and I went to get some of that powder stuff that Wesley wanted, I was talking to a shop assistant while Doyle bought it. He showed me an orb thing. He said the right incantation and this orb could send me back to wherever I wanted to go in my life. I couldn't help myself, and I bought it, along with the spell book. I haven't used it, but I'm thinking about it."

"Mirany, think about this. This would change the future dramatically. Think of the people who would be alive because you didn't kill them. Slayers, kings, queens, rulers, normal people...it would change the world."

"How do you know it wouldn't be for the better though?" asked Mirany. "Maybe the world is better off with me living my normal life like most people. How do you know that there won't be world peace because the rulers that I didn't kill all got together and said 'let's be friends'? You don't know."

"No, but what I do know is that what you're talking about doing is not something that you can undo. You're not going back in time to tell yourself not to eat that last biscuit. You're telling yourself to have a normal life and that means that the moment you do, you will no longer exist here. I won't remember you, no one will remember you. Hell, I might not even have a soul if you die because you were the reason that gypsy girl was in our room. Think about it Mirany. This is wrong. A spell like that is too dangerous to exist and certainly shouldn't be sold at a magick store. You can't do this. I won't let you."

Mirany didn't say anything, but Angel could see in her expression that her mind was fairly made up.

"Mirany...you can't leave me," said Angel.

"You won't even remember me, you said so yourself," said Mirany. "All you'll remember is a girl that stood you up one night."

"I'll probably kill you myself when you don't show up. I'll go up to your room and kill you in your sleep. You know I will."

"Hard to do in a castle full of servants," said Mirany pointedly. "And I always locked my door at night...in case the rumours were true. There was a vampire around, the peasants all said. I wasn't foolish enough to leave myself defenseless at night."

"You were that night," said Angel. "You didn't think twice, did you? Mirany, this _will_ change the world. You've affected too many people, in both good and bad ways, it will be too much of a change."

"Too late to tell me that," said Mirany, and from her pocket she drew a small orb.

She muttered a few words and Angel knew what happened next. He grabbed her arm at the last second and together, they were pulled back in time.


End file.
